Postal customers blasť about stamp price hike

WORCESTER — Even those leaving the post office on East Central Street on Wednesday weren't very concerned about a proposed 3-cent increase in the price of stamps.

"I don't use stamps that much," said Tony Sposato of Worcester. "I don't think the post office is doing all that well ... There are so many other shipping methods."

The board of governors of the U.S. Postal Service said Wednesday that to make up for billions of dollars in lost revenue, it needs to increase the price of first-class stamps by 3 cents, or about 6.5 percent, which is more than the rate of inflation. That would bring the cost up to 49 cents per stamp and pull in an extra $2 billion a year.

"Increasing postage prices is a last resort that reflects extreme financial challenges," board chairman Mickey Barnett wrote in a letter to customers Wednesday.

The proposal would also bump up the rates for magazines, advertising mailings and packages.

The Postal Regulatory Commission must approve the changes, which would go into effect Jan. 26.

Sandra Garisi of Hubbardston said she might go out and buy a few stamps in advance of the increase. Still using the service to pay her bills, Ms. Garisi estimates that she uses about five stamps per week.

"I'm not going to really worry about (the increase)," she said.

A postal worker who retired in January after 36 years, Mike Dillon of Webster speculated that it is the postal service's strategy to keep Saturday delivery.

He said third-class mail is pulling in a lot of money for the service.

Even though Mr. Dillon said that the increase is not a big deal, if it is brought to fruition, he said he would likely buy a roll of 100 stamps in the next few months to save $3.

But Mark Giffin of Oxford said he "probably won't stock up."

He said that he has switched to email for most correspondence that he would have done with first-class mail in the past, but still considers himself a "big mail guy," and takes advantage of the post office's Express options.